Love and War
by Violetrose93
Summary: Sequel to Why'd You Even Bother? Dawn and Paul meet up again, but this time it's Paul who's in danger. With Paul's meddlesome brother Reggie around, things tend to get a little awkward. Ikarishipping oneshot.


**So, to make sure I don't burn out on contestshipping, here's another ikarishipping oneshot. This is actually a sequel to my other story, "Why'd You Even Bother?". I'm also currently writing a long story, "Living is the Hardest Thing You'll Ever Do", and while it's mostly contestshipping, I can definitely promise some ikarishipping later on. Thanks, and please review!**

"What are you staring at?" Reggie asked, following his younger brother's gaze. Paul looked away swiftly.

"Nothing," he replied, hoping his brother wouldn't notice anything. Unfortunately, Reggie was smarter than Paul usually gave him credit for. He smirked knowingly at Paul and winked.

"Riiight. Well, _nothing_ looks pretty cute today," Reggied said, glancing across the town square. Standing near the bakery was a large crowd, including one dark haired girl in a loose pink tank top and skinny jeans.

"I wasn't looking at Dawn," Paul said quickly, realizing his mistake even as he spoke.

"I never said anything about Dawn," Reggie said, grinning evilly.

"Whatever," Paul muttered, walking away.

"Oh my God, Dawn, that's like the hundredth time you've looked at him," May complained. They had been waiting in line at the bakery for almost an hour and May was starting to get impatient.

"I can't help it," Dawn moaned, glancing at Paul in the window. He and his brother were arguing about something, and even when he was angry (which was all the time) she couldn't help but think that he looked really cute.

"I don't know why you even like Paul," May said exasperatedly. "He's a total jerk to you every time we see him."

"Not all the time," Dawn snapped. "And anyway, Drew treats you the same way, and yet you still have a crush on him."

May blushed and stared at her feet. "I don't have a crush on Drew," she said unconvincingly. "And even if I did, at least I'd have a shot. Drew gives me roses, remember? What has Paul ever given you, other than the urge to punch him?"

Dawn blushed, the memory of that kiss in the hospital running through her mind.

"Nothing, alright?" She paused for a second. "I hate you."

"I know."

"I'm going to go travel with Misty."

"Love you, too."

"Argh!" Dawn yelled, banging her head into the window.

Later, after May and Dawn had successfully procured their cookies (which, Dawn had to admit, had been well worth the wait) the two girls split up to train. Sometimes they worked on tactical skills together, but when they were perfecting combo moves, they preferred to train alone.

"Alright, Piplup, use rain dance. Then use ice beam." The falling rain froze instantly, giving Dawn the perfect opportunity.

"Okay, now use bubblebeam!" The bubbles shattered the icy rain drops, creating a mixture of suspended water and glittering shards of ice that refracted rainbows over everything.

"Piplup, that was awesome!" Dawn cheered, giving the pokemon a hug. Dawn was about to start their next combo when something rustled in the bushes, catching Piplup's attention.

"What're you looking at?" Dawn asked curiously, peering into the bushes. An Electivire appeared, sprinting across the clearing and heading straight for Dawn and Piplup.

"Eek!" Dawn screamed, leaping to the side. Electivire didn't even stop. It just kept running, crashing through trees and undergrowth like it wasn't even there. Paul popped into view, his hair snarled with twigs and leaves, his eyes more panicked than Dawn had ever thought possible. He took in Dawn's sudden appearance with a frantic look and yelled, "Run!"

Dawn was about to ask why, but Paul blew past her, grabbing her arm and dragging her along behind him.

"Paul! Stop!" Dawn yelled, trying to pull her arm free. She glanced behind her, her eyes widening in fear, and then she started running too. A Salamence was hurtling through the trees, its eyes locked murderously on Paul.

"Piplup, return!" Dawn cried, and Piplup retreated to the safety of its pokeball. "What did you do?" Dawn shouted at Paul, ducking under a tree branch. Paul didn't answer, but Dawn noticed he sped up considerably.

Suddenly, Paul tripped and fell, his body becoming snared in a thorn bush. Dawn shot ahead by several feet before she skidded to a stop and ran back to help.

"Don't," Paul groaned. "Just run."

"Shut up," Dawn hissed, trying desperately to pull Paul free. The thorns were embedded in his skin and clothing, however, and Dawn couldn't yank him free without tearing off a lot of skin. Behind them, Dawn felt the Salamence come to a stop. She turned around fearfully and almost fainted. The Salamence had reared up on its hind legs, its jaw agape as it prepared to spew fire on both of them.

"Wait!" Dawn locked eyes with the pokemon and threw her hands up in a non-aggressive position, momentarily catching the Salamence's attention. "Tell me what you did," Dawn hissed sideways at Paul, not daring to take her eyes off the Salamence to glare at him. Paul didn't answer, and the Salamence began to get irritated.

"Wait! I know he probably did something stupid," Dawn said, rolling her eyes. "That's kind of his thing." If pokemon could sneer, Dawn would have sworn that Salamence did.

"But just let me fix it, okay?" Dawn said, praying that it _could_ be fixed. She rounded on Paul, but he was already pulling something out of his bag. Dawn gaped when she saw the egg, and then stared furiously at him.

"You! Absolute! Idiot!" she screeched, punctuating each word with a slap to the head. Behind her, she heard the Salamence make a sort of low growling in its throat. Terrified, Dawn spun around, belatedly realizing that the Salamence was laughing. Its eyes snapped to the egg, and Dawn picked it up. As she held it out to the Salamence, Dawn willed her arms to keep still, deathly aware of the tremors that were starting to shoot up her legs. The Salamence leaned its huge head forward, close enough to easily bite Dawn's head clear off. Instead, it gently lifted the egg in its mouth, before shooting another glare at Paul and storming away.

Dawn waited for the sounds of snapping tree branches to fade away before she turned on Paul again.

"Alright, I get it!" he yelled, trying to move his hands in front of his face. "Just don't hit me again, sheesh."

Dawn started to walk away, muttering furiously about boys and stupidity.

"Hey, wait! You're just going to leave me here?" Paul asked indignantly, yelping in pain as another thorn bit into his face.

Dawn stopped, her nostrils flaring. "I am very tempted," she snapped, turning back towards the bush. She ruthlessly began yanking at thorn covered limbs, ignoring Paul's cries of pain.

"Thank you for being so gentle," Paul said sarcastically, managing to free an entire arm.

"You almost got me trampled by a Salamence. Be grateful I didn't let it eat you," Dawn warned, jerking one of Paul's legs free. It took almost twenty minutes to extricate him entirely, and by the time Paul was finally free of the bush, his face, arms, and neck were covered in thin, bleeding scratches.

"Great. I'll probably get an infection and die," Paul said darkly. Dawn smiled at him sweetly, a little too innocently.

"I really don't like that look," Paul said warily. "What?"

"Nothing. I'll help you clean the scratches out," Dawn said, pulling a bottle of antiseptic out of her bag.

"Oh, God," Paul whispered, watching Dawn wield a clean rag like a sword.

_This should be a form of military torture_, Paul thought miserably, wincing every time Dawn swiped at a scratch. They were sitting on a fallen tree trunk, although Paul kept trying to inch away. Whatever disinfectant she was using burned like a mother, and despite Paul's best efforts, he couldn't help but jerk away every time she got close with the rag.

"Hold _still_," Dawn hissed through gritted teeth. Paul didn't even bother saying sorry anymore. It just made her pour more antiseptic onto the rag.

"You could be a little more sympathetic, you know," Paul pointed out. "You're been in my shoes before. With that Ursaring?"

"Yeah, yeah," Dawn scoffed, pouring more liquid onto the rag.

"Thanks, by the way," he mumbled, hoping she couldn't hear him. By the way she stiffened, though, he knew that she had.

"Yeah, well, I guess I owed you," Dawn replied grudgingly.

"Now we're even."

"It seems like it."

They sat there in silence while Dawn finished cleaning out the cuts. Finally, after she put the rag and bottle of disinfectant (or, as Paul thought of it, pure evil) away, Dawn sighed, shaking her head.

"_Why_, why would you steal an egg from a nesting Salamence?"

Paul shrugged. "I wanted to see if a pokemon raised from a hatchling would be stronger than one I just caught. I would've settled for just catching a Bagon, but I couldn't find one."

Dawn paused, absorbing this information. "Back in Sinnoh, you wouldn't have bothered to waste the time raising a pokemon like that," she said cautiously. "What changed?"

Paul's mouth twisted in a wry smile. "Eh, some annoying coordinator started getting under my skin."

"Oh, really?" Dawn raised an eyebrow, trying to hide her blush.

"Yeah, really." Paul said, reaching out and pulling Dawn towards him. He leaned in, their faces maybe an inch apart. "She's really something. In fact—"

"You talk too much," Dawn whispered, kissing him. Paul returned the kiss passionately, fighting the urge to grin. He'd always known Dawn had fire, but this . . . Dawn wound her arms around his neck, running her hands through his hair. Paul groaned slightly and deepened the kiss, holding her against him tightly. The log shifted slightly beneath them, and they slid backward, Dawn falling onto Paul's chest. They looked at each other and started laughing, just enjoying the feeling of being in each other's arms.

"I guess this is a bad time, huh?" Paul jumped in shock. Dawn's face, already flushed, turned cherry red as they both noticed Reggie leaning casually against a tree, grinning. They both struggled to their feet while Reggie grinned and grinned.

"How long—" Paul started to ask, but his brother cut him off.

"Have I been standing here? Long enough. Your Electivire showed up without you, so I wanted to check to see if you were alright."

"I'm fine," Paul said, gritting his teeth.

"I can see that," Reggie said, waggling his eyebrows at Dawn, who squeaked and grabbed her bag.

"I have to go," she mumbled, running off in the direction of town. Paul watched her go until she was out of sight, then walked slowly over to his brother.

"I'll _kill_ you," Paul said, grabbing Reggie and slamming him against the tree. Reggie appeared unfazed.

"Yeah, well, the next time I ask you what you're staring at, you should answer me. Otherwise, who knows how badly I'll embarrass you?" Detaching himself from Paul's hold, Reggie sauntered off, whistling an upbeat little tune that filled Paul with murderous rage.

"Dammit!" Paul slammed a first into the nearest tree.

Later, Dawn, now recovered from the absolute most embarrassing moment of her life, left the pokecenter and went to find May. Dawn hadn't eaten since those cookies that morning, and the business with Paul earlier had driven thoughts of food out of her mind. Now that her appetite was returning, however, Dawn was famished.

In fact, she was so focused on finding somewhere to eat that she didn't notice Paul walking next to her for a second. She startled back, blood rushing to her face again. For some reason, she had thought that Paul would have just left and headed towards the next town.

"Uh, hey," she said awkwardly, unsure of what to say.

"We need to talk," Paul said, pulling her into an alley.

"This isn't creepy at all," Dawn muttered under her breath. Paul chuckled and said, "Yeah, sorry. I'm just trying to avoid Reggie."

"Good idea," Dawn grumbled. Her opinion of Reggie had plummeted severely, and if she ran into him again, Dawn wondered if she wouldn't "accidentally" set Pachirisu on him.

"Look, I just wanted to apologize for earlier," Paul began, but Dawn interrupted him.

"It's fine, Paul. Honestly."

"It's really not," Paul said, annoyance flashing across his face. "I shouldn't have done what I did."

Dawn snorted. "You didn't do anything. You were too busy talking."

Paul glared at her. "I'm trying to apologize, but you're so damn stubborn."

"Ha!" Dawn laughed shortly. "Coming from the guy who's carved out of stone."

"Could stone do this?" Paul inquired, pressing her up against the wall in a kiss. Dawn pushed him away, scowling.

"Oh, no, you're not going to pull that—" Paul cut her off with another kiss.

"Paul—"

"I mean it—"

"Will you just—"

"Argh!"

Paul grinned, resting his forehead against hers. "Well?"

Dawn rolled her eyes. "Fine, you're not made of stone. Now, will you let me go?"

Paul pretended to consider it. "Nope."

"Fine," Dawn said, trailing her hands down his sides. Paul jerked slightly as she started to tickle him.

"That's not fair," he gasped, her hold on her breaking. Dawn giggled and danced out of his reach.

"All's fair in love and war," she quoted, shooting him a mischievous smile.

"This feels more like war than love," Paul grumbled. Dawn darted over and kissed him, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"How about now?"

"Perfect."


End file.
